


Branching Out

by TheLittleTrashCat



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Stardew Valley (Video Game), and one more but shhh its a secret
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders is a Little Shit, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders is a Sweetheart, Caring Logic | Logan Sanders, Cookies, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders Angst, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders Needs a Hug, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Deceit Sanders Has a Different Name, Fear, Flashbacks, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting to Know Each Other, Gift Giving, Heavy Angst, Hugs, Insecurity, Internal Monologue, Late Night Conversations, Late at Night, Minor Violence, Morality | Patton Sanders is a Good Friend, Morality | Patton Sanders is a Sweetheart, Multi, Nightmares, Non-Graphic Violence, Nyctophobia, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Protective Morality | Patton Sanders, Rating May Change, Repressed Memories, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Indulgent, Slow Burn, Smitten Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Swearing, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, Touch-Starved, absolutely - Freeform, am i starting another wip regardless?, do i need another wip? no, everyone meets roman and collectively goes "i guess im soft now", roman and remus are not related in this, roman is a sad boi :(, roman talks to himself, there are no enemies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:28:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23174701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLittleTrashCat/pseuds/TheLittleTrashCat
Summary: When Roman moved into Stardew Valley, he wasn't sure what to expect.Farming, yes. Neighbors, yes. But he wasn't expecting howfriendlyeveryone is, contrary to everything he's know all of his life.What's worse, is that some of the townspeople seem hellbent on befriending him for a reason can't fathom. It doesn't help that they're really nice to him, and always take time out of their day to do things with him, and that it was a really nice feeling to be cared for, actuallyOh, and there's magic too, apparently, but after everything he's seen, this little pocket of nonsense is a breath of fresh air. A breath of fresh air that includes people. And the wildlife isn't trying to kill him, so that's a plus.He could really do without the evil corporation that didn't care for its workers, though. He was getting really tired of those.
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Everyone, DLAMP
Comments: 22
Kudos: 62





	1. the wheels on the bus go round and round

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic is entirely self indulgent bUT the world needs more of roman being a soft bab
> 
> and i mean in this its at the cost of him suffering but shhhh
> 
> updates hopefully once a week

Roman’s leg bounced anxiously. All around him, his fellow bus goers were in their own words, most with earbuds in and others sleeping. Some of them were simply staring out of the window with blank expressions, looking like they very much wanted to be anywhere but there.

The blue seat beneath him was hard, and the swirling designs were faded. Outside his window, trees rolled by, nothing in the scenery having changed in what felt like hours.

To his left was a man in proper attire, with slicked back dark brown hair, a black dress shirt and trousers. A blue and black tie was tied around his neck, and perched on his nose were a pair of black glasses. Like Roman, he too had a backpack, but it was nicer and seemed to be more neatly packed. He wasn't sure where he was going, but if he was dressed like that then it had to be somewhere important. Maybe he was a businessman?

Roman didn't know, and he found himself fidgeting with the hand sanitizer he had clipped onto his old backpack, which he had clutched against his chest. It wasn't because it was more comfortable this way, but Roman had taken one look at the floor and decided he would sooner die than let anything other than his feet touch whatever horrors may be resting on the floor.

The man next had sat down at the previous stop, and Roman had been trying to work up the courage to introduce himself and ask what his name was the entire time. It was pathetic, he knew, especially seeing as the last stop was 45 minutes ago, but Roman couldn't just _ask_ him. He had, once but that was before...that was before. Besides, nobody else seemed to be very talkative either, and Roman wasn't about to go and break that unspoken rule.

Gnawing on his thumbnail nervously, Roman glanced at him again. He had a book in his lap, and he seemed very absorbed by it. He didn't know what it was about, but it had small letters, so he assumed it was something very long and complicated. 

Roman averted his eyes, staring out the window at the trees that blurred by. The bus was old and worn down, and every small dip caused the entire bus to bob up and down. It made Roman jump every time and kept setting off his nerves. His heart rate had been high the entire time, and the roads seemed to be less unkempt the farther they went along, making each bump more jarring than the last.

Roman glanced over at the man again. He was looking at Roman with an eyebrow raised in amusement when their eyes met, and Roman squeaked and looked away quickly, face lighting up from being caught staring like a creepy weirdo on a bus.

The man laughed softly. “My name is Logan,” he said in greeting. “I’m assuming that’s what you wanted to know?”

Roman nodded, hugging his backpack closer to himself as his ears burned. 

“What might be your name?” Logan asked.

“R-Roman,” Roman stuttered, making eye contact for a brief moment before looking away. God, he was a mess. Where was his confidence? His pizzazz?

Logan gave him a kind smile, before returning to his book. Roman chewed on his lip, feeling like an idiot. Who tried to make small talk on a bus anyways?

“W-Where are you, going?” Roan managed awkwardly, voice small. He bought back a comment about how it had to be fancy by the way he was dressed, because what did he know? He couldn't just assume things about people by the way they were dressed, that was just rude.

“Stardew Valley,” Logan responded, looking back up at him. “Pelican Town, to be more specific. I’m staying with family there. They bugged me to return all winter, and I had only taken fall and winter classes," he said, sounding fondly exasperated.

“Oh, I- I’m going there too," Roman said, not sure how to feel with the new revelation that the person next to him would soon be living in the same town as him.

“Really? So you must be the new farmer everyone’s been talking about," Logan said, suddenly seeming very interested in Roman. “We don’t get a lot of new faces,” Logan continued. “I’m sure you’ll be a lovely addition. Pray tell, do you like looking at the stars?”

Roman nodded again. The stars had given him hope that one day he might escape, might see another human face. The sun brought forth the dawn of another day trapped, and Roman sometimes could barely stand to see it without sobbing. It was beautiful, but it reminded him that there was no one to share it with, and there never would be. The sunset, however, said that he had survived another day. That he hadn’t crumbled into nothingness yet. That he would live to see another day.

Lost in thought, he had forgotten about Logan, and now the man was giving him a searching look.

“You don’t talk much,” he noticed, giving. Roman shook his head, glancing around the bus. The crowd made him feel anxious and claustrophobic. He wasn’t used to being around so many people at once. He had been, once, but months of isolation tended to change things about how one interacted with others.

"No, I- I don't. Sorry," Roman mumbled, feeling guilty about spacing out on him.

"There's no need to apologize," Logan said as he placed his bookmark in his book and closed it, unzipping his bag and setting it aside. Roman had his full attention. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

Before he could say anything, the bus stopped with a squeal of tires. Roman froze, panic jolting his veins, _then out of the darkness, larger than any other one he had seen before it, face glowing blue and maw wide as it let out an echoing cry was a-_

“Roman?” Logan asked, gently shaking his shoulder and Roman couldn't stop his full body flinch. “This is our stop," Logan said, quickly pulling his hand away with a concerned look that Roman purposely ignored. 

Roman let out a shaky exhale and nodded, slinging his backpack over one shoulder and walking down the aisle with Logan in front of him. The other passengers watched him as he walked with disinterested gazes, and Roman lowered his head, looking at the dirty steel floor of the old bus.

As soon as his feet touched the soft grass covered ground, the doors slammed shut behind him. Roman jumped, staying frozen as the bus drove away, knuckles clenching the strap of his backpack in a white knuckle grip.

“Logan!” a voice exclaimed from down the path, and. Whipping his head up showed that the voice belonged to what looked like an older woman, likely in her early fifties or late forties with ginger hair pulled up into a ponytail. She wore a yellow long sleeve with a vest pulled over it as she gave Logan a warm smile. “How's my favorite nephew?” she asked, coming to a stop in front of him. Roman instinctively hunched his shoulders, staring down at the ground. 

“I’m your only nephew," Logan told her dryly. 

The woman waved her hand with a laugh. "That doesn't stop you from being my favorite." She turned to him. "Hello!" she greeted, "You must be Roman."

Roman jerked his gaze up. "Uh, hi," he mumbled, not sure how else to respond.

"I'm Robin, the local carpenter," she introduced herself with a welcoming smile. "I'm also Logan here's Aunt," she added.

"It's a rather unfortunate relation," Logan told him, and Roman couldn't help a small giggle, quickly covering his mouth with his hand to hide his smile. He didn't want to seem rude.

Robin chuckled. "Don't mind him. He's been spending too much time with Sebastian and Virgil, I tell you. Oh, and Ethan too. A sarcastic bunch, the lot of them."

"It's an adequate way of conveying emotions," Logan said, giving her a bored look over crossed arms.

"Anyways," Robin shook her head, turning back to Roman, who felt awkward and out of place with their banter that was clearly born out of experiences, relationships and people he didn't know and wasn't a part of. "Mayor Lewis sent me here to fetch you and show you the way to your new home. He's there right now, tidying things up for your arrival."

"I'm assuming you want me to head home, then?" Logan asked.

"If you want to," Robin replied, "Though you may just wanna drop your stuff off. Patton made cookies for you."

"Did he now?" Logan asked, raising a brow. "Well, I may have to go check that out. It was nice meeting you, Roman," he said.

Roman blushed. "It was, uh, nice meeting you too," he mumbled, face lighting up again.

"Should I expect to see you around town?" Logan questioned. Roman nodded. "Good. I shall you later, then."

Roman stared down at the path as Logam walked away, face burning. He had just barely met Logan and he wanted to see him again? Why? They didn't even know each other.

"The farm's right over here, if you'll follow me," Robin said, starting down the path. Roman scrambled to catch up with her, eyeing the surrounding area. Trees stood on either side of the path. At the end of it was a wooden sign with faded white lettering.

Walking into the clearing, Roman saw an old cottage with trees and bushes all around it. The house was made out of a light colored wood with a red roof and a stone chimney, smoke slowly rising out of it. The house had some old pieces of wood on it, and the front porch had a hole on the far side by the firewood storage, a wooden crate next to it.

"This is Lone Oak farm," Robin said, waving a hand at it in an introductory manner. 

Roman felt his jaw drop slightly. In the letter he wrote, his Grandpa had said this was his pride and joy, and this looked like a cabin in the woods where you would get murdered, not a respected farm to be proud of.

"What's the matter?" Robin asked, noticing his distressed look. She followed his gaze. "Oh, yeah. Sure, it's a bit overgrown, but there's some good soil underneath that mess!" she assured him. "With a little dedication you'll have it cleaned up in no time."

Roman silently wondered why he hadn't considered the fact that the farm wouldn't be in tip top condition. He was no stranger to hard work, forcing himself to do things is what kept him sane, but still.

Robin led him down to the steps of the porch, and Roman stared up at the house. All in all, it was well built and seemed sturdy, despite the rugged exterior. 

"...And here we are, your new home," Robin said.

Suddenly, the door opened and Roman nearly jumped out of his skin, hand instinctively coming up before he realized he wasn't in any danger. He instead rested his hand on his now fast beating heart, studying the newcomer. He was definitely older, hair and mustache both solid gray. He was dressed in a green collared shirt with a yellow tie and suspenders complete with a brown cap, and Roman didn't think he'd ever seen anyone quite as old man looking as him in a while.

"Ah, the new farmer!" the man exclaimed joyfully. "Welcome! I'm Lewis, Mayor of Pelican Town."

"Hi," Roman said, not knowing how else to respond. "Uh, my. Grandpa told me to say hi in his letter."

"Did he now?" Lewis asked. "Well, that doesn't surprise me. Probably called me an old man, too," he chuckled. "You know, everyone's been asking about you."

Roman blinked in surprise. "They have?" Logan had said that too, but he hadn't believed him. Why did everyone want to know about him anyway? He was just a farmer.

Lewis nodded. "It's not everyday that someone new moves in. It's quite a big deal!"

"It really is," Robin added.

"So...you're moving into your grandfather's old cottage. It's a good house...very 'rustic'," he said, eyeing the building."

"Rustic?" Robin laughed. "That's one way to put it…'crusty' might be a little more apt, though."

"Rude!" Lewis exclaimed, and Roman shrank in on himself slightly. "Don't listen to her, Roman. She's just trying to make you dissatisfied so that you pay her to fix it up."

Robin gasped in mock offense, and then crossed her arms with a _hrmph._

"Anyway...you must be tired from the long journey. You should get some rest. Tomorrow you ought to explore around town and introduce yourself. The townspeople would appreciate that."

Would they? Roman wasn't sure. He would probably make a fool of himself just trying to say 'hi.'

Robin and Lewis began to walk away, but Lewis paused next to a wooden bin. "Oh, I almost forgot. If you have anything to sell, just place it in this box here. I'll come by during the night to collect it."

Roman looked up at that, alarmed. He would come during the night? Was that not extremely creepy? 

"Well...good luck!" Lewis said, gesturing to the farm, and then he and Robin disappeared down the path.

Roman let out a shaky exhale. _These people are so friendly,_ he thought to himself. _Nothing like back where I'm from._ He shook his head to clear it off memories and made his way up the steps, pushing on the door. It swung open slowly with a long creak, and Roman stepped through it. Inside, a slowly dying fireplace was nestled in the back corner. There was an old TV sitting next to it on a small wooden stand. A small, pathetic looking little kitchen set up was on the left wall, next to a small washer and dryer. A table with two chairs in the back left corner, a small potted plant in the middle. In the right corner closest to him was the bed, tucked against the wall. A dresser was pressed against the headboard, a door in front of it that presumably led to the bathroom. The low afternoon sun casted warm sunbeams through the few windows, illuminating the dust particles that swirled through the air.

Roman shut the door behind him, making his way over to the dresser. He quickly placed the few clothes he had brought inside of it. He selected a change of clothes and peeked inside the bathroom. It was tiny, with only a tall, rectangular shower, a toilet, and the sink and cabinet with a mirror in the space where the shower wasn't. It was...lackluster, but it was better than what he was used to, so he counted it as a win. He quickly stripped his clothes off and tossed them in the hamper.

The water was cold as he quickly cleaned himself with the soap and shampoo Lewis had probably gifted him. He needed to find a way to repay him somehow, for his generosity. When he was done, he dried himself off and put on his pajamas. Stepping out into the house, the fire had died completely,leaving the sun the only source of light, and even that was fading.

Roman settled himself in bed, sighing as he leaned back against the wall and crossed his legs, letting his eyes fall gently closed. He wasn't even sure where to begin with the farm. He had never been a farmer before. He had grown plants in a small, enclosed plot before, but that was vastly different than this. It would take a lot of hard work to fix the farm up, and the learning curb would be...very hard, but...maybe it could be fun?

Sighing, Roman reached down and pulled his backpack into his lap. He rummaged through it, until his searching fingers hit the edge of the envelope. He pulled it out, tossing his backpack back onto the floor, and extracted the letter from it and carefully opening it.

_Dear Roman,_

_If you're reading this, you must be in dire need of a change._

_The same thing happened to me, long ago. I'd lost sight of what mattered most in life...real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong. I've enclosed the deed to that place...my pride and joy: Lone Oak Farm. It's located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. It's the perfect place to start your new life._

_This was my most precious gift of all, and now it's yours. I know you'll honor the family name, my boy. Good luck._

_Love, Grandpa_

_P.S If Lewis is still alive say hi to the old guy for me, will ya?_

Roman smiled softly, setting the letter down on top of the dresser. He only had a few memories of his grandfather, but he had seemed like a good man.

Maybe he would enjoy his time here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> logan normally: i have no feelings, and even if i did u dont deserve to see them u pathetic beings
> 
> logan the very second he meets roman: oh fuck oh no wait he cute, oh god i gotta be Somft


	2. a single cookie cant hurt

Roman was awoken by sunlight streaming through the window and the distant sound of a rooster crowing. He groaned, rolling onto his back.

"Fuck," he said to his ceiling. He had to get up, he knew, but staying here, in his warm and soft bed sounded nice. Alas, the day waited for no one, so Roma reluctantly sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

He pushed his blankets off and hissed as his bare feet touched the cold wooden floor. Roman went through his morning stretch routine, and when he was done he made his way over to the small kitchen that he could barely qualify as a kitchen. Pulling open the mini fridge, Roman decided on a piece of toast for breakfast. It wasn't very exciting for a breakfast but it was different from what he was used to, so he wasn't complaining. As his bread toasted he quickly got dressed (light blue denim overalls that hugged his legs and an oversized grey hoodie). When his toast was done he shoved it into his mouth, carefully chewing it so it wouldn't fall as he laced up his brown boots. Done with all that, he had a quick glass of water, then he grabbed his backpack and walked out the door.

The rising sun cast a pink glow over the farm as he stepped outside, the trees casting shadows. It was early, probably sometime around six or seven. Roman took another step forward, and nearly tripped over a box that rested on his porch. 

"Shit" he hissed, wincing. He crouched down to inspect it. It was certainly a gift box, that much was clear. It was small and square shaped, and an experimental tug revealed that it wasn't very heavy. Roman ran his fingers along it until he found the ridge, and with a grunt of effort he popped the lid off. Inside lay a bag of Parsnip seeds, a piece of paper resting it.

_ Here's a little something to get you started. - Lewis _

Roman chewed on his bottom lip. How could he accept this? The Mayor must have spent a lot of money tidying the place up so it was livable. He'd have to repay him soon, Roman decided, setting the Parsnips in his backpack.

Standing back up, Roman walked over to the wooden box he had seen earlier, carefully prying the lid open. Inside resting iron tools, and Roman breathed a small sigh of relief. He had been worried about not having any tools to get started, so he was glad to have found some. 

Roman cast a glance out to the farm, eyeing the logs, rocks, and bushes that dotted the clearing. Getting rid of the logs and rocks would take a lot longer, and he needed to at east start doing  _ something. _

Roman reached into the toolbox and hauled out the scythe, surprised at how light it was. Perhaps Roman was just used to hauling around heavy things, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He gave it a few experimental slashes.

"I've always wanted a weapon bigger than a knife," he whispered to himself. He twirled it around. "I'm a badass motherfucker. Knives are for losers." He paused, then shrugged. "Which makes me a loser but I already knew that."

Satisfied he had a vague understanding of how to use it, Roman hoped down and got to work.

Though it was slightly older, the scythe still cut through the first bush he tried like a knife to warm butter. Roman picked up the pieces of the bushes and put them in his backpack, then paused. What was he even going to use them for? 

Roman didn't know, but he supposed collecting everything he could conceivably carry was a force of habit. Besides, he could probably fashion  _ something  _ out of them.

An indeterminate time later, the sun had risen high in the sky, and a Roman had cleared a small area out. There were still a few logs and rocks laying around, and Roman sighed. He had a lot of work to do.

* * *

It was sometime past noon by the time Roman had finally cleared out a space to begin farming, and his arms were starting to ache as he tilled out a space to plant the seeds Mayor Lewis had given him. Roman let out a tired sigh, sitting down, or rather collapsing on his porch steps for a breather as he surveyed his work.

"Not half bad," he said, impressed. All in all, he had gotten a lot done. He still needed to actually plant the Parsnips, obviously, but he still felt a tiny bit of pride at what he had accomplished. "Better than the crop plots I used to own. A shame they weren't self watering. Would have been very helpful so they weren't constantly dying."

Roman yawned, reluctantly standing up with a stretch. A quick glass of water and a granola bar later, he found himself sitting in the dirt and carefully placing seeds in the ground, humming a tune to himself.

"Wait, why am I humming the Star Spangled Banner?" Roman snorted, shaking his head. "I am so dumb."

His knees complained when he stood up to get a watering can, and Roman stumbled to the side, nearly fallingl over as his vision darkened

"Oh yeah, I need to actually drink more than two glasses of water a day," he said to himself, pressing the back of his hand against his forehead as he waited for his vision to go back to normal. "Especially in this sun," he muttered, slipping into the blessed shade of inside his house. He filled up another glass of water, chugging it down.

Three glasses of water later and a lot of mourning for the helpful suggestions of 'Water Intake Recommended,' Roman no longer felt like he was going to collapse, which was helpful. 

The sun glared in his eyes when he stepped out the door, and Roman shielded his eyes with his hand. All he needed to do was water, really, and then he would be done for the day. He had gotten it all done a lot faster than he had anticipated. Spotting a small pond not too far from the house, Roman grabbed the watering can and made his way over, fallen leaves crunching under his feet. Roman froze, staring at the plethora of leaves on the floor. 

"And I was being so productive," he whispered, the urge to step on the probably very crunchy leaves growing stronger every second he stood there.

Five minutes and many stepped on leaves later, Roman finally got the water from the pond, feeling extremely satisfied. As he watered the Parsnips, he considered going out into town. The idea of saying hi sounded terrifying, but enticing at the same time. He had promised Logan he'd be in town, too, and he couldn't just break his promise. 

"I guess I have to get more seeds somehow," Roman muttered, setting the watering can down on the porch and suddenly feeling the confidence he had had before disappearing. 

His boots quietly clacked against the cobble path as he walked into town, feeling very out of place. The stone path was wide, and to his left stairs led up to who knows what. All of the buildings were unfamiliar, and he wasn't sure what any of them were used for.

Roman walked farther into the almost town square like area, gaze drinking in the strange sights. 

"Ooh!" a voice suddenly called, and Roman jumped out of his skin, barely managing to keep his hand from instinctively coming up in a defensive position. A young woman with short and spiky blue hair and a red dress stood a little ways down the path, but as she spoke she quickly made her way towards him like a homing missile. "I can read it on your face. You're going to love it here in Pelican Town," she said, bouncing to a stop next to him. "My name is Emily, what's yours?" 

"Uh, it's- I'm Roman," he said, stumbling over his words like an idiot, still in shock over how Emily had practically raced to meet him.

"Nice to meet ya!" Emily said.

"Uh-" Roman bit his lower lip, unsure what to say. Was there even anything  _ to  _ say in this situation? How did small talk even work?

"Hello!" another voice called. Roman turned to see two older looking women walking towards him with the same intent as Emily, and he fought to not shift away as they drew closer. The one who spoke had green hair and a blue dress, and the other one had brownish hair tied into a braid and a purple shirt and jeans. 

"You must be Roman, the new farmer. I'm Caroline. My husband runs that store over there. He sells fresh produce and seeds, as well as other general goods, so head there if you need anything," the green haired women winked.

Roman blushed, not sure how to respond to the blatant self advertising. Was he supposed to say that he would check it out? Was there a specific response she was looking for that he wasn't giving?

"You aren't exactly how I imagined…but that's okay! I'm Jodi," the other woman said. 

"Uh, hi," Roman mumbled, shifting his weight awkwardly. What was that supposed to mean? What did she expect him to be like?

_ Probably more talkative,  _ a voice in the back of his mind whispered. Roman ignored it.

Roman shifted his weight gain, staring down at the ground. He felt uncomfortable under their almost expecting gazes. Was he supposed to say something? What did they want from him?

"Well, I best be off," Jodi said tiredly, breaking the silence that had formed.

"It was nice meeting you!" Emily said.

"Feel free to stop by my shop any time," Caroline said. The three of them then walked off to do whatever and Roman was left standing there, feeling extremely awkward.  _ What just happened?  _ Did three random women seriously just say hi to him and them and then immediately leave? Who did that?

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Roman made his way over to the store Caroline had shamelessly self advertised. There was a bulletin board resting on the wall, a calendar next to it. It had people's birthdays listed on it, as well as a few events. Roman was grateful for it, as without it he wouldn't have known they had town wide events in the first place. He supposed it made sense, but it wasn't something that happened often where he was from. 

Roman pushed open the glass door of the shop, and it opened with a ding of bells, and Roman couldn't help the way he froze and his shoulders hunched. The man at the counter looked up and beamed at him. "Hey, it's Mr. Roman, the new farmer!"

Roman gave a small wave, stepping fully into the shop and glancing around. Wooden shelves lined with goods decorated the right side of the store.

"I'm Pierre, the owner of this very general store you're standing in. If you're looking for seeds, this is the place to be! I'll also buy produce from you for a good price! A little agriculture can really inject new life into the economy!"

Roman gave the exuberant man an awkward smile, drifting over to where the seeds. He only had a small amount of Gold to him name (and it was wild how  _ fucking  _ **_gold_ ** was the currency here. Was it like this everywhere? Were credit cards a thing here? Roman would have to look into that. They had technology, but used gold as currency. It was like the Roman empire, but more technologically advanced) so he could only afford a handful of seeds for the time being. 

"Hello, it's nice to meet you," a soft voice said. Roman jumped, whipping around to face it. The woman jumped back in surprise, and Roman quickly made himself relax, not wanting to seem violent or jumpy. 

"It's, uh, nice to uhm, meet you too," Roman finally managed to say.

The woman nodded. "My name is Leah," she said, her braid of red hair sliding off her shoulder as he spoke.

"I'm Roman." Leah gave him a nod, and Roman looked back down to the collection of seeds. If he was honest, he didn't really know what some of them were, but there were a few he recognized, which was good. It wouldn't be nice to be completely unaware of the plants that grew here. There were a lot of similarities, so he assumed everything was the same and he just didn't recognize some of them because he had never seen them. That still didn't change the fact that he had absolutely no idea what to buy.

"If you're looking for something to get," Leah started, probably having noticed his lost expression, "I would recommend the Bean Hoppers. They'll produce crop for the entire season."

Roman gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you," he said sincerely. 

Leah gave him a wry smile. "Just looking out for a fellow crop grower." And with that she grabbed a handful of seeds and made her way to the counter. Roman looked back to the seeds, scanning them until he found the alleged Bean Hoppers. Peering into his pouch, he did some quick math and grabbed eight of them. It only left him with twenty gold, but if Leah was right it would pay itself back nicely. 

"Found something you like?" Pierre asked, grinning as he approached the counter.

Roman ducked his head nodding. "Yeah." As Pierre rung up his purchase, Roman couldn't help but wonder why everyone felt the need to introduce themselves all at once. He was just one person, did they not think about the possibility that they were overwhelming him? He wanted to talk to people, but seriously. This was a lot of new faces, all at once, and he didn't like it.

"Oh, that's right….I heard someone new was moving onto that old farm." Roman jumped, internally swearing.  _ You have got to be kidding me, _ he thought, turning to face the newcomer. She had a shock of bright purple hair, and Roman was so surprised he almost missed her next words. "It's kind of a shame, really. I always enjoyed exploring those overgrown fields by myself."

"Abigail!" Pierre scolded, handing Roman his seeds as he glared at her.

"Sorry, dad," Abigail muttered. "Not my fault I have low impulse control."

"Actually," Pierre began, and Roman, sensing a family fight, booked it out of there, not wanting to be caught in the middle of something so personal. In his haste to escape, he didn't notice the man walking down the path in front of the door until he literally ran into him. Roman almost fell over, but the man quickly steadied him.

"Woah!" the man said. 

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Roman burst, face reddening.  _ Stupid, stupid, stupid, need to pay more attention. Can't get too relaxed.  _

The man, a spiky blond, laughed and shook his head. "It's fine. My name is Sam. I heard you were a Roman?" he asked, voice light.

"Uh, yeah."

"Well it was nice to meet you!" Sam cast a glance into the shop. "I better go save Abbie from her dad. See ya!"

Roman watched him go.  _ Does anyone else want to say hi now?  _ he thought sourly. How many people were in this town, anyway?

"Roman!"

_ Oh for fucks sake- _

Turning, Roman was pleasantly surprised to see Logan walking towards him. Finally, someone who wasn't chasing him down just to introduce themselves. The only part of Logan' outfit that had changed was swapping his dress pants for jeans, and dress shoes for still fancy looking but undoubtedly more comfortable shoes.

"Hi, Logan," Roman said. Roman cast a glance around, dearly hoping nobody else showed up.

"Is something the matter?" Logan asked.

"Hm? Oh," Roman blushed, giving Logan a sheepish smile. "It's just- so many people have said hi to me and then left immediately afterwards and it just- a lot to take in."

"Ah," Logan said. "Yes, that does sound rather overwhelming. If you would like, a friend of mine made cookies. I sincerely doubt anyone would bother you there."

"Okay," Roman found himself agreeing. Logan was a smart man, and a familiar face, despite the fact that they didn't quite know each other. He seemed nice, too, so if he said he knew a place Roman wouldn't be bothered, then he trusted him.

"My friend, Patton, lives with his brother, Alex, and they live with their grandparents, Evelyn and George" Logan explained as they walked. Roman nodded, feeling himself drift closer to Logan, instinctively moving towards the one thing he trusted in the wide open space. He wanted to move back to a reasonable distance, he couldn't just invade his personal space like that, but Roman really hated being so exposed. It made the back of his neck tingle, set all of his nerves on edge and brought back memories he'd really like to forget, of dark abysses that he couldn't see the bottom of and a heart stopping cry that brought the promise of a terrifying encounter. 

"We're here," Logan said, interrupting his train of thought. Logan stepped forward, knocking twice. Roman shifted his weight, feeling suddenly anxious. Would he be imposing? Would they even want him there? 

Roman didn't have time to worry, as the door swung open, revealing a man with fluffy light brown hair and a large spattering of freckles across his face. He wore a blue shirt and a grey hoodie tied around his shoulders, and he gave Roman a beaming smile when he saw him.

"Well heya there! You must be the new farmer! I'm Patton," he said.

"Hi," Roman mumbled shyly, staring down at the ground. "'M Roman."

"Do you two know each other?" Patton asked, looking between them with an inquiring gaze.

"We happened to sit next to each other on the bus here," Logan answered. 

"That's awesome!" Patton pushed the door open, gesturing into his house. "Well, come on in! I'm the only one here, aside from Virgil."

Roman couldn't help but pull a face. He had already met so many new people in such a short span of time, he really didn't need another. But, glancing at Logan's face, he figured that the three of them were friends, and who was he to try and police when th3eh hung out with their friends. 

Patton led them both to the kitchen and dining area, and there was a plate of cookies resting on the dining table. Sitting in one of the chairs was a man dressed in a patchwork hoodie with purple hair and dark eyeshadow under his eyes. He gave Roman a two fingered salute, but said nothing. Roman was extremely grateful for that, though he felt guilty about it.

"Salutations, Virgil," Logan greeted, sitting down in one of the chairs and snagging a cookie.

"Hey, L," Virgil responded through a mouthful of what was probably a cookie.

"This is Virgil. Virgil, this is Roman," Patton said, introducing them to each other as he too sat down.

Virgil nodded towards him. "Sup, I guess," he said awkwardly. Roman gave him an equally awkward smile. Realizing he was the only one standing, Roman hurriedly sat down, almost tripping in his haste.

Virgil let out a short laugh. "Smooth."

Roman glared down at the tablecloth, fighting back the tears brimming in his eyes. God, he was a pathetic mess. Virgil hadn't even directly insulted him, he was crying over literally nothing.

"Virgil, be nice!" Patton scolded sternly.

"Sorry, Roman," Virgil muttered, not sounding at all like he was sorry.

"'S fine," Roman managed around the painful lump in his throat. 

"Would you like a cookie, Roman?" Patton asked.

Roman almost refused on instinct, but he didn't want to be rude. After all, he was the stranger here.

One cookie wouldn't kill him, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> roman: *exists*
> 
> literally everyone: im about to Go Say Hi


End file.
